


The One Where Everybody Finds Out

by slytherco



Series: 25 Days of Drarry [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Based on a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episode, Christmas Crack, Comedy, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry and Draco think they're sneaky, Hiding, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Misunderstandings, Neville Longbottom is a Good Friend, POV Alternating, Pansy is meddling, Post-War, Ron Weasley is a Good Friend, Scheming, Secret Relationship, Secrets, Sneaking Around, Snogging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21737089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slytherco/pseuds/slytherco
Summary: Day 5 of 25 Days of Drarry.Prompt: "That’s mistletoe we’re standing under.”---Remember those few legendary F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episodes where Chandler and Monica thought they were SUPER sneaky with their relationship but all their friends found out one after another? Well, here's just that - in Drarry flavour.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: 25 Days of Drarry [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559188
Comments: 32
Kudos: 626





	The One Where Everybody Finds Out

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://slytherco.tumblr.com/post/189579423798/25-days-of-drarry-day-5)

Harry’s wand gave a faint pulse as the _Tempus_ charm was activated. 1 AM. He cast a muffling spell to further soothe his conscience, and slid out of the bed, careful not to wake his roommates. While Ron tended to sleep like a log (and snore like a bear), Neville was a variable that needed to be taken into consideration. After almost 7 years of bunking together, Harry saw him sleepwalk, or wake with a start and proceed to fall back to sleep in five seconds, and sometimes even have entire, abstract conversations with people while being asleep. They used to have a lot of fun watching him, but now? Now was time for sneak mode and Harry wasn’t taking any risks. He cringed, remembering how Hermione had to petrify the poor bloke back in their first year.

Sneaking out of the room, he managed to close the door behind him without making a sound. He walked past the bathroom door, straining his ears for any noise, just in case, but there was nothing. _Perfect._ Finally, reaching the eighth-year common room, Harry discovered that the reason for his late-night escapade was already waiting, nervously pacing the room.

“You’re five minutes late, Potter.”

“You told me to be careful!”

“Are you telling me that being both careful _and_ on time is beyond your capabilities?”

“Piss off”, Harry pulled Draco Malfoy flush against his body in one swift move. “I missed you”, he murmured, and then, they were kissing. He let out a low moan as soon as Draco’s tongue slid inside his mouth, discovering at least three new ways to take Harry apart. His hand shot up to catch a fistful of white-gold hair and he felt the other man shiver as he grabbed Harry’s backside, pressing their groins together. Harry slipped his other hand under the blond’s shirt to savour the warm expanse of smooth skin.

“Fuck, Harry”, Draco gasped when they broke apart for air. They were both getting hard, and, sadly, it was neither the time nor the place. Don’t get him wrong, the prospect was bloody tempting but also very, _very_ dangerous.

Harry huffed and kissed his jaw. “I’d love to”, another kiss, under his ear. “But it would be much easier if we stopped sneaking around”, he caught Draco’s earlobe with his teeth and the other man sucked in a sharp breath. “and just told everyone already.”

“Agreed, but we both know how _that_ would go”, he tipped his head back to give Harry better access. “Pansy and Granger would- _fuck,_ Potter-- go batshit crazy, probably say one of us is under _Imperio_ , and Weasley?”, he took Harry’s face in his hands, looking at him seriously. “Weasley would _murder_ me.”

Harry leaned his forehead against Draco’s and sighed. “I know, love. But we’ll have to figure something out, and soon, because-”

“Hello? Is someone there?”, a sleepy voice came somewhere from the dormitory doors. _Shit. Neville._

Harry pushed Draco away so fast, that the other man almost fell into the fireplace. In that same second, the common room was illuminated by a bright light at the tip of Neville’s wand. He spoke in a drowsy tone, probably still half-asleep. “Harry? What are you doing here? I thought I heard something so I came to check and- Malfoy?”, he looked between them, confused. Harry sent a silent thanks to the divine for having the foresight to wear his nightgown - at least nothing _showed_ just what exactly they were up to.

“Thanks for checking up, Neville, really, er- “, he looked to Draco, a bit panicked, to find the man scowling at both him and Neville. _What the hell did_ I _do to you_? He turned back to his friend. “I heard Malfoy snooping around and...”, he could just _feel_ his boyfriend staring daggers into the side of his head. “and I came to check?”, Harry finished dumbly, begging silently for Neville to be sleepy enough to buy this.

Draco’s bored tone cut the air. “Yes, ‘tis me, Draco Malfoy, always up to no good. Thank Merlin for our Gryffindor heroes, keeping the fragile peace.”

Neville didn’t look reassured by that so Harry quickly cut in. “I’ve got this, mate, you can go back to sleep. Herbology revision tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah… Yeah, all right. Goodnight, Harry”, he hesitated, “... Malfoy.” He then turned and went back to their room. Draco rolled his eyes.

When they heard the door close behind Neville, Harry let out a long, relieved breath. “Merlin’s tits, that was close.”

“You _think?!_ ”, Draco whisper-shouted at him. He then rubbed his temples, still shaken from the close call.

The problem was, there were far too many people in Hogwarts for them to have some alone time and not risk exposure. But what if they weren’t at Hogwarts? He gasped. “I have an idea.” Draco glanced at him, arching a brow.

“Let’s just… leave. For 2 days, or so. I was supposed to stay at school for Christmas but I can tell everyone I’m visiting Teddy”, the plan was quickly forming in his head and Harry felt excitement grow in his chest. “Andromeda is taking him to see some relatives so it’s a perfect cover!” He grabbed Draco by his wrists and carried on. “And you - I’m sure you go to some, er, weird pureblood feasts in some castle or something, right? Draco?”

The blond was staring at him with an unreadable expression. Tilting his head, he spoke in an amused tone. “Weird pureblood feast? Potter, what do you think we do, sacrifice newborns?” he chuckled. “As much as it pains me to say it, this plan of yours sounds… feasible”, Draco seemed almost shaken to be agreeing with Harry. _Prat._ “But where would we _go_? The Leaky Bloody Cauldron? I’m not touching those bedsheets with a ten-foot pole.”

Harry snorted at that. “I own a house, you finicky brat. You might remember, it once belonged to your family.”

Realization dawned on Draco’s features. “That could actually work. Take care of your Gryffindor halfwits, and I’ll make sure Parkinson doesn’t sniff around.” He gave Harry a chaste kiss. “Let’s go, before someone else decides to check up on their Saviour.”

Harry rolled his eyes fondly. “Goodnight, Draco.”

***

A few days later, Harry was surprised to learn that their plan worked… well, perfectly. Hermione and Ron hadn’t questioned his announcement at all, simply wishing him a good time and asking to say hello to Teddy for them. It had worried Harry, initially, but he’d reckoned he was being paranoid. Draco assured him he had made up a convincing story for Pansy, which included his mother, a charity ball in Paris and expensive-sounding food. The posh wanker. 

He did, however, feel a bit guilty about using his godson as a cover for what could only be described as a sex-getaway with his secret, ex-rival boyfriend. So he sent Teddy an extra-large Christmas present to stifle his conscience, making a silent promise to make it up to the boy the next time he saw him.

As for their short trip, Harry still flushed at the memories. To fully enjoy the privacy they were finally blessed with, he and Draco mostly stayed in bed. They had made good use of it, too, mainly by snogging, cuddling, sleeping, and, obviously, having mind-blowing sex. Frankly, it was worrying, how hard he fell for the git. But one morning, Harry woke up to find Draco lying next to him, head on his chest, their limbs entangled, and something clicked. He watched that gorgeous man, watched how the morning sunlight made his hair look like liquid gold, and how his delicate, slender fingers were lightly wrapped around his bicep. And when Draco blinked sleepily, kissed his shoulder, and murmured a hushed _good morning_ , Harry knew there was no going back from this.

Like it could have ended any other way.

***

They came back to Hogwarts after two days of pure bliss, with most of their pent-up energy finally released. Even his friends seemed to notice his good mood. _If only they knew._ A few days before Christmas, Harry, Ron, and Neville were hanging out in their room, playing Exploding Snap and enjoying the little free time they had. At one point, Harry stood up to go to the loo, and later in the future, he would pinpoint it as the moment where everything started to go awry.

“Harry? What’s that smell?”, Neville asked in a curious tone. Frowning, he sniffed the air around him. “Is that… perfume?”

Harry froze, fearing his soul might just be leaving his body. Fucking Malfoy. 

While Harry was perfectly content using a simple deodorant, his ritzy bastard of a boyfriend owned dozens of expensive products and designer colognes that he doused himself with on a daily basis. Harry didn’t complain too much, because Draco smelled _fantastic_ , but after spending over 48 hours in very close quarters, all his clothes smelled like fancy perfume. And Neville, curse his Herbology talents, was able to catch the distinct scent.

“Er, yeah, I- I got it from Andromeda. Um, for Christmas, y’know”, Harry stammered. _Why didn’t he say he borrowed it from someone?!_ He started praying to all the deities he could think of, for Neville to drop the topic and, dear Merlin, not to ask to see the bottle.

“Oh, that’s nice. I only asked because I think I smelled it somewhere before”, Neville grimaced as if trying to remember where.

“I don’t smell anything”, Ron stated, scrunching up his eyebrows. “Come here.”

“Can everybody please stop smelling me?!”, Harry squawked, his voice going unnaturally high. He cleared his throat. “Let’s go play a round of quidditch, what do you say? Two chasers, one keeper. Who’s up?” He was talking fast, crossing his fingers to divert their attention. 

Ron and Neville shared a weird look but shrugged it off. All three of them stood up and started to get dressed. Harry was almost ready and reached into his pockets, where he knew he kept his gloves, but they were empty. He patted himself down, confused.

“All right there, mate?”, Ron looked at him, questioning.

“I think I lost my gloves. The red ones, have you seen them?”

“Nope, maybe they’re somewhere in here?”, Ron scanned the room.

Harry took a quick look at the mess they had made over the last few days and waved his hand dismissively. “Nevermind, I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

His friends, thankfully, dropped the perfume issue for good, and, a few minutes later, they were headed for the castle grounds. At least in the fresh air, he wouldn’t smell like posh bastard. Another disaster averted.

***

Draco was lounging in the 8th year common room, catching up on his potions reading. It felt strange, to casually sit among the people whom he despised for the last few years. After the war, everybody seemed so tired of the constant animosity between their Houses and, well, the Slytherins, that a wary truce started to form. Eventually, the eighth-year students, slowly but steadily, started falling into a comfortable camaraderie, and even some new friendships started to form. In the corner of his eye, he caught Granger and Millicent, talking in hushed tones by the fireplace, then, there was Blaise, sprawled on the sofa, laughing at something with Finnigan and Thomas in tow, and even Theo, sitting at the table and studying together with Abbott. It was comforting, how they were all able to put their past behind them and just be teenagers, he supposed. And then, there was him and Potter. A pleasant shiver went down his spine, as Draco recalled their little elopement. He had never expected to even be civil with the git, not to mention come anywhere near him, physically or otherwise. But somehow, there they were, and it was absolutely brilliant. It was also dangerous, and terrifying, and a huge risk. So Draco, being a mature young man, refused to ponder or even acknowledge his feelings or what they meant. And, at the same time, he sensed he already bloody knew what it all meant. 

His ruminations were rudely interrupted by Pansy, who entered the common room with some Ravenclaw girls he didn’t know, all three of them cackling like a coven of witches. Scowling at the noise, Draco vaguely wondered, how on earth he ever could have thought that he was straight. Don’t get him wrong, he loved Pansy to bits and the succubus was his best friend but, from a very young age, they both knew they would always be just that, nothing more. 

Setting aside all thoughts of Potter, the war, and evil women, Draco adjusted himself in the stuffy armchair he was occupying and, mildly annoyed, tried focusing on the book in his lap, _again_. 

The door opened, as Potter, Weasley, and Longbottom entered the common room, talking and bickering. He saw Harry shoot him a quick glance and his heart jumped. _Salazar, he was whipped._ The three men dropped to the nearest couch on the other side of the room and Draco, sighing, went back to his potions reading, all hopes of ever finishing it long lost.

Pansy was rummaging around the common room, looking under tables and flipping over cushions. She turned to Draco. “Darling, have you seen my beige scarf? I must have lost it somewhere.”

“It’s in my coat, you left it in the Great Hall”, he waved her off, not looking away from his book. Pansy crossed her arms, still looming over him. He looked up. “What.”

“Well, what are you waiting for, go and get it!”, she looked at him incredulously.

Draco groaned, closed the book with a snap and sneered at his friend. “Have you suddenly lost the ability to walk or are your hands sore from pawing at Goldstein in broom cupboards? Piss off and get it yourself, I’m not your house-elf!”

“Salazar, fine! Someone’s grouchy today”, She threw her arms in the air and stomped to Draco’s room.

A few people looked up from what they were doing but said nothing, clearly used to their everyday banter. He caught Weasley leaning over to Potter, whispering something. The other man chuckled awkwardly and Draco had a vague idea what the ginger must have said. _Oh Weasley, you poor sod._

A minute later, Pansy came back, the scarf draped over her shoulders. She came up to him and dangled something in front of his face, her eyebrows raised. The moment Draco saw what she had found, he felt all blood drain from his face. It was a pair of crimson gloves, belonging to none other than Harry Potter, the Boy Who Didn’t Fucking Care Where His Stuff Was. _Shit_ . He must have borrowed them at some point when they were in London. _She doesn’t know that. Pull yourself together and act normal._ He briefly glanced at the couches but Harry was deep in conversation with his friends.

“Can I help you?”, he ask haughtily, willing the contents of his stomach to stay down.

“Found those in your pockets”, she was giving him a questioning look.

Draco tried feigning ignorance. “Good for you, Pansy. Any other revelations, or would that be all?”

“Draco, darling, since when do you wear burgundy?” He suddenly felt very hot. Of course, Parkinson would notice, the blasted drama queen. She knew perfectly well Draco would never be caught wearing a _Gryffindor_ color. “A horrible fashion choice, dear, it’s not doing your complexion any favours.”

“Are you with the bloody Aurors now or are you just an inherently nosy cow?”, he shot her a dirty look, desperately trying to keep his cool. “Did you find what you were looking for, or would you like to search my arse as well?”, he shot her a fake smile as she rolled her eyes.

“Well, someone ought to, you grumpy little shit.”

“Didn’t I tell you to piss off? Give me that”, he stood up, snatched the gloves from her hand and strolled through the common room to take them back and hide them in his chest. When he shuffled with a swoosh of robes that would put Severus Snape to shame, he caught Longbottom surveying the gloves with a furrowed brow. When Draco walked past them, the man froze. 

From then on, Draco could only watch a disaster unfurl in slow motion. Longbottom straightened and sniffed two, three times and his eyes went comically wide. He looked at him, absolutely, utterly _horrified_ , and then slowly looked to Harry. “Ohhhh”, Back to Draco, then snapped back to Harry again. “Ohh, oh no, no, no, _no_ …” 

Potter jumped up and grabbed the man while he was still in shock. “I _just_ remembered, Neville, could we _please_ talk in private, right now?! Come on!” He squawked, manhandling Longbottom out of plain sigh, and ushering him to their room. Draco muttered something about using the loo and followed suit. _Shit, shit, shit._

When the door closed behind him, he was impressed to see Potter had already gagged Longbottom with a spell and was now looming over him, fidgeting nervously. Draco cast a quick _Muffliato_ , just to be safe, and stood next to Potter.

“Hmmpff- Hmmmph!”, Neville was gaping at them, his eyes almost popping out. Draco sighed and lifted his wand.

“Will you do the honors, or shall I?”, He asked in a sullen voice.

Harry looked at him in dread. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Well, we have to obliviate him, I don’t see any other-”

“What- We’re not obliviating him!”, the other man bellowed. He turned to Longbottom and spoke in a calming voice. “Neville, I’m going to take the gag off now. Just _please_ stay quiet, all right?”

Potter removed the spell and Longbottom gasped for air. He was staring at them in mute shock. When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse. “You… Harry. You- And with… Oh, Merlin, it’s true then?”

“Yes”, he looked to Draco. “We’re, um, together.”

“But… How? I mean, really, how?!”

Harry huffed. “It happened a few months ago, actually.”

“ _Months_?! But, that’s absolutely-”

“Brilliant, yeah”, Harry said sheepishly and wrapped his arm around Draco’s waist. It made him feel all warm and gooey inside, and he instantly decided he would rather move back in with Voldemort than admit it out loud. 

“Not the word I would use, mate”, the other man seemed stunned.

Draco sensed it was time to speak up. “Longbottom, you _cannot_ tell anyone. This is a private matter and since Potter forbids me to erase this little mess from your head, you will _stay quiet_.” 

“Oh, bloody hell, I hate secrets! Why don’t you just tell everyone?”, Neville groaned.

“Are you _insane_ ?! Seeing your reaction only confirms that everybody else will collectively _lose their minds_!”, Draco hissed and turned to Potter. “Do something!”

“Er, Neville, do you think you could keep this to yourself, at least for the time being? Please, mate.”

“Did you have sex in our room?”, Neville asked abruptly.

“Oh dear god-”, Harry whined, while Draco spluttered a _Wha- fuck, no!_

“All right, all right, sorry!”, Longbottom raised his hands in an appeasing gesture. “I won’t tell anyone. But I don’t like this!”, he pointed a finger at them in accusation.

Harry let out a breath of profound relief. “Thank you, mate. Really.” Draco scoffed and Harry turned to face him.

“Oh, come on, no need to be so dramatic, it’s all fine _”,_ Potter smiled at him sweetly and gave him a quick kiss.

“Yep, I’m leaving!”, Neville bolted to the door but Harry stopped him.

“One more thing. On Friday, if someone asks about me… Tell them, er, Hagrid wanted to see me, will you?”

“Yeah, yeah, see ya!”, with that, Neville practically ran out of the room, as fast as his long legs allowed him.

Draco glanced at the closed door and swallowed. He really hoped Harry was right this time, and it would, in fact, all be _fine_.

***

The night clouds had cleared and the moonlight seeped through the library windows. It illuminated the tall pile of books on the table, casting a long shadow. It shook Hermione out of her studying marathon, and she looked around. Casting a quick _Tempus_ , she discovered it was almost 1 AM which meant she’d been reading non-stop for over six hours. Rubbing her eyes, Hermione decided it was time to call it a night. She gathered her things and headed for the common room.

It was nice, to be back at school, without The War looming over them like a ticking time-bomb. She was glad to spend one more year with her friends and be able to finish their education. Having done all her work, for the time being, Hermione planned to finally catch up with Harry over the break. And, well, she thought, blushing lightly, maybe get some alone time with Ronald. While the latter was easy to manage these days, Harry seemed to always be out somewhere, disappearing during the evenings and coming up with shady excuses. Hermione knew better than to push him into a confession, but she had a feeling that maybe her best friend had finally found someone. It made her truly happy and she resolved to wait until he was ready to tell her himself. She was curious though, who the lucky girl was, and sincerely hoped it was someone who would be with Harry _for Harry_ , and not for the idea of him. Hermione chuckled to herself, wondering if anyone else noticed his strange behaviour. _Probably not_. 

Upon reaching their common room, she put her books on the nearest table and headed towards her room. A faint rustle and some hushed whispers sounded in the corridor behind the corner. Hermione, intrigued, cast a wordless muffling charm and, taking a few careful steps, listened in. A man’s low chuckle could be heard in the dark hall, and was that… smacking? She covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. _Well, at least_ someone _was having fun._ Hermione didn’t want to disturb or embarrass the couple, so she decided to hang back until they left. She stopped dead in her tracks when the next whisper reached her ears.

“Fuck, you have to stop this!”, the man chuckled again. And was that… _Harry?!_

Hermione’s jaw dropped and she rushed back to her corner and heard more gasps mixed with kissing sounds. _Harry was snogging someone in the corridor!_ She felt a little bad for eavesdropping but told herself she would obviously never confront him about it or tell another soul. She was just… curious. _God, Pansy was seriously rubbing off on her._ Then again, who could be so special for Harry to be _that_ sneaky? Triumphant about being right, Hermione listened in. 

“I’m serious, I need to go!”, Harry gasped. “We’re going to wake someone up.”

“That didn’t bother you last time, Potter. And you don’t really want me to stop, do you?”, another voice purred and was it… _male?!_ It sounded vaguely familiar but it couldn’t be-

“Draco! Go. I’ll see you tomorrow at dinner. Quidditch locker room.”

A minute later, the corridor was once again silent. Hermione stood in the pitch-black common room and for the first time in her life, she thought that ignorance was, indeed, bliss.

***

The next day, Hermione was still unable to shake off the memory of what she had walked in on the night before. Obviously, she trusted Harry with her life, but Malfoy? She wouldn’t put it past him to somehow manipulate her friend for his own benefit. And sure, their relations with the Slytherins have improved tenfold since The War, but that didn’t mean Malfoy could go around snogging Harry in dark corridors. What were they thinking? 

Hermione stayed up considering her options until the early morning hours and came up with zilch. She had a nagging feeling that maybe she shouldn’t interfere, that perhaps Harry knew what he was doing. But weighing that against the slim chance that Malfoy really was plotting to somehow harm her friend, well, she was prepared to withstand a dressing-down if her suspicions turned out to be wrong. Which they usually didn’t. 

Right before dinner, she knocked oh Harry, Ron and Neville’s door and let herself in. The only one inside was Neville, clearly getting ready to go down to the Great Hall. He smiled at her in greeting.

“Hi, Hermione, come in. If you’re looking for Ron, I think he’s already downstairs.”

“Actually, I was hoping to catch Harry, have you seen him?”

At that, Neville visibly hesitated. “Harry? Wha- Um, why would you need Harry? I mean, I could take a message, if you want”, his face went scarlet and, interesting.

“Thank you but I’m afraid I need to speak to him in private. Do you know where he went? He’s not in the Great Hall.”

Neville was fidgeting. Did he… know something? No, that’s impossible. He was smart, naturally, but not even Hermione figured _that_ out. He finally answered. “He, uh, went to see Hagrid. Said he asked him to come. Um, alone.”

_Or maybe?_

“Oh, thanks, Neville. I’ll go to Hagrid’s then and join them”, she stopped herself from snorting at his face going ashen. _He knows. Now, we break him._

“Don’t!”, Neville shouted the moment she turned to the door. 

“Why not? Something wrong?”

He was staring at her, completely aghast. “No! I mean, no, of course not, it’s- Just… It’s fine, but what if he already left?”

_Oh, you poor soul, how did you find out and what did they threaten you with?_

“Neville”, she spoke calmly, not to spook him, “do you know something?”

Her friend looked like he was about to explode. It was getting exhausting but, nevertheless, she admired his loyalty. “What? I- I don’t know anything! What do you think I know?”

“Oh, I don’t know. But if you did know something, you _would_ tell me, right?”

Neville apparently decided that not saying anything altogether would be the best course of action here. He just stared at Hermione with terrified, pleading eyes. 

“All right. How about I’ll just go look for Harry in the Quidditch locker rooms and check if he’s there?”, Hermione said carefully, barely able to hide her smirk anymore.

Neville let out the most dramatic gasp of the century and pointed a finger at her. “You _know_?!”

“Sweet Merlin, _Harry and Draco?!_ ”, she shrieked.

“... are together!”, Neville shouted back, nodding his head frantically.

“Wait, what? What do you mean, _together_? I thought they’re sleeping with each other.”

Neville cringed. “Oh, um. Yeah, that too. But I think it’s more than that.”

Hermione sat down heavily on Ron’s bed. “How long?”

“Long enough. They looked pretty smitten.”

***

“Granger! A word.”

“What do you want, Pansy?”, Hermione sighed, too tired to deal with her roommate’s madness at the moment.

“Is that how you greet all your friends?”, she purred, sending Hermione a charming smile.

“I didn’t realize we’re friends.”

The other girl gasped in mock-outrage. “Of course we are, don’t be daft!”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “What do you need?”

“You’re friends with the giant, yes? I need a favour”, Pansy’s tone went serious.

“If you want me to help you, it’d be wise not to call him that. And what on earth would you want from Hagrid?”, she raised a questioning brow.

The other girl waved her hand dismissively. “I got a purse for Christmas, which I’m told is made of Mooncalf fur. I need him to examine it and tell me if it’s genuine.”

“That’s… ethically questionable. Isn’t poaching them illegal?”, Hermione glanced at her with disapproval.

“I am aware. If it turns out to be real, I’m sending it back”, she looked away and fiddled with the hem of her robes. “I don’t need any, um, trouble with the law. Not anymore.”

Hermione looked at her with genuine curiosity. Pansy seemed actually worried, biting her lip and looking at her almost pleadingly. She sighed, feeling she would regret it later. “Fine. We’ll go visit him after dinner”, she pointed a finger in warning “and you’ll behave.”

“I’ll be good”, she winked. _Ah, yes, here comes the regret._ “And thank you, Granger. I mean it”, she added, serious this time.

After dinner (which Harry and Malfoy attended this time, thank Merlin), Hermione and Pansy met in the Entrance Hall and left the castle, heading for Hagrid’s hut. They talked casually about schoolwork and exams and Hermione was surprised to realize that maybe they had, in fact, become friends. _It seemed that everybody was getting on quite well with the damn Slytherins._

She was in the middle of reciting the list of potions she suspected they would get on their N.E.W.T.s when, out of the blue, Pansy pulled her behind a tree, almost knocking her over.

“What are you doing? Pansy?!”, she stared at her in confusion, when the other girl shushed her and peeked from behind the tree at something in the distance.

“Now I’ve got you, you sneaky bastard”, Pansy muttered triumphantly.

Hermione turned over to where she was looking and saw Draco Malfoy walking down the hill, his white hair standing out in the evening lighting. It was clear the man was headed to the Quidditch lockers. _Oh._

“Pansy, are you spying on him?”

The girl turned to her. “Granger, for your information, he’s been acting strange for weeks, months even. Sneaking around, disappearing to Salazar knows where, and lashing out on me for no reason. I don’t know what that arsehole is up to but I intend to find out.”

“Isn’t this a little paranoid? We, um. Weren’t we supposed to go see Hagrid?”, Hermione asked weakly.

Pansy looked at her, disbelieving. “Aren’t _you_ curious what he’s up to? I thought your lot was all about maintaining law and order and all that shite. We’re going after him.”

“Wait- _we?!_ We’re not going anywhere! Let’s- Let’s just leave him alone”, her voice rose in pitch. Pansy clearly didn’t know about Harry and Draco. While Hermione didn’t really care why Draco chose not to tell his best friend about his… _relationship_ , this concerned Harry, too, and she felt a hot surge of protectiveness for her friend. 

“Well then, looks like I’m going alone”, Pansy seemed unbothered and went after Draco, her purse forgotten.

“Wait, no!”, Hermione caught up with her in seconds and kept talking in a loud whisper. “Pansy, I really don’t think this is a-”

“Shhh!” the other girl rounder a corner of the small building and listened in. “I think I can hear something.”

Hermione sent a silent apology to Harry. _I tried._ Cringing, she looked behind the corner with Pansy in tow. And there Draco was, currently pressed up against a wall by a very enthusiastic Harry whose face was buried in the blond’s neck. Malfoy’s eyes were closed and he had a hand in Harry’s hair, gripping it tightly. Hermione glanced at Pansy; all colour seemed to have drained from the girl’s face. _Serves you right for sniffing around_ . When the two men, unaware of their audience, started fumbling with each other’s belts, Pansy opened her mouth as if to scream. Hermione, thankfully, was quicker. She covered her mouth with a hand and dragged the girl away from the scene. _Nothing to stick around for._

When they were a safe distance away, Hermione let her go, sent her a scathing look and spread her arms in a _Happy now?_ gesture. 

“Salazar’s saggy tits, what the fuck?!”, Pansy shrieked. “What the _fuck,_ Granger?! Draco and… and _Potter,_ of all people?!” 

“Pansy, shut up!” Hermione looked around to make sure they were alone. “Yes, I found out recently, and Neville knows, but nobody else knows, and Ron doesn’t know so you need to _stop screaming_!” She was now whisper-shouting at her roommate who still looked as if everything she believed in has just crumbled before her eyes. Which, to be fair, it just may have.

“I am going to murder that bastard”, Pansy hissed. “Wait. Granger,” she looked to Hermione with a furrowed brow, “is our lovely couple aware that their secret is out?”

“No, I don’t think so. As far as they know, only Neville figured it out”, Hermione did not like the mischevious smile slowly creeping on the other girl’s face. “Pansy, whatever you’re thinking right now, _don’t_.”

The brunette’s smile only widened. Merlin, Slytherins were truly evil. “I have a plan. We’re going to mess with our lovebirds a bit.”

***

Hermione and Neville were sitting in the common room, lounging on the large sofa by the fireplace. She was reading a book on Magical Law and Neville was writing a letter to his grandmother. It was the second day of Christmas and the whole room was adorned in beautiful fairy lights and colorful ornaments. Everything smelled like cinnamon and gingerbread, there even was a giant tray of Christmas cookies and candy sitting on the table, courtesy of Hogwart’s house-elves. In the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Harry, mulling over the schoolwork they were assigned to finish during their break. The few people that stayed over for Christmas went in and out, some relaxing with a book, some opting to go to Hogsmeade.

Pansy entered the common room, took a quick look at them and sent Hermione a playful wink. _Oh, dear, what now?_ He brunette then came up to Harry, leaned on the table and spoke in a sultry voice. “What are you doing there, Potter? Not enjoying your break?”

Harry looked up, startled; the first thing he saw must have been her impressive cleavage, as he blanched and cleared his throat. “Oh, um, hi? I’m, er, doing some homework. I- I’m a bit behind.”

Pansy giggled. “I’m sure you’ll be just fine. What’s that, potions? I’m _very_ good at that. I could help you, if you’d like.” 

Harry visibly swallowed. Looking at Pansy in confusion, and a tiny bit of fear, he replied weakly. “Oh, I’m… Uh, I’m not sure I can-”

He immediately stopped talking when she brushed a manicured finger over his hand, slowly, from his wrist to the tips of his fingers. “I hope you’ll take me up on that offer. See you around.” She then walked away, her hips swaying, and joined Hermione and Neville, who looked like someone just petrified him. 

Pansy was still smiling when Hermione took her by the wrist and hissed, “What on earth are you doing?”

“Relax, Granger, I’m not going to violate your Golden Boy. It’s part of my plan, and you and Longbottom here, are now my accomplices”, she replied with an impish smile, wrigging her hand free from Hermione’s vice-like grip.

“ _That’s_ your plan?! To give Harry an aneurysm?”, Hermione asked in a disbelieving tone.

“My _plan_ is to mess with them so much, they finally get their heads out of their asses and admit their feelings! This is getting ridiculous and they won’t be able to hide it for much longer, anyway.”

“How do you know there even are any feelings _to_ admit? For all we know, this can be just… a casual fling”, she tried, sounding unsure, although deep down she knew, she was only trying to convince herself.

“I don’t know how close you are with Potter, but I know Draco. He’s never been like this. If that were a conquest, he would definitely have bragged about it.”

“Pansy, you’re insane.”

“No Granger, I’m genius. Longbottom, you’ve been quiet. What do you think?”, she turned to Neville who seemed torn.

“Well, they do seem serious about it. And if this plan ends all the secrets, then I’m in”, he shot Hermione an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry, Hermione, it’s just… they keep using me to cover their arses and Malfoy’s scary!”

Hermione sighed, defeated. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. What are you going to do next?”

***

Later that evening, all eighth-year students went for an impromptu Hogsmeade trip before the end of the Christmas break. Harry and Draco hung back, telling their respective friends they would join them in a bit, only to tell them they fell asleep (Harry) or had a headache (Draco) when asked later. They were lying in Draco’s bed, shirtless, finally alone, and cuddled up together. After a thorough snogging session, Harry was sprawled over Draco’s chest, the other man slowly carding his fingers through Harry’s hair. It felt nice, and intimate, and so deeply _theirs_ , Harry was glad they decided to keep all of this to themselves just for a little longer. Suddenly, he remembered he wanted to tell Draco something. He turned, propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at his blond wonder of a boyfriend.

“Something weird happened today.”

“Hmm? Did Weasley finally take a shower? Oh, wait, did Longbottom sprout a set of balls?”

Harry rolled his eyes and smacked Draco on the chest. “Stop it. What _happened_ , was, um, I think Pansy was, er. Coming on to me?”

Draco snorted, earning himself another eyeroll. “No, love, I assure you she wasn’t.”

“I’m serious! She almost crawled on my table, and talked about- about _studying_ together! And she was all… _seductive_ , it creeped me out!”, Harry replied hotly. Oblivious or not, he was sure he saw _that_.

The other man grimaced. “She’s a Slytherin, maybe she’s trying to get in your good graces? You know, the Boy Who Lived Twice and all.”

“I’m telling you, this was different, Draco. She touched my hand, for Merlin’s sake!” Harry was unconvinced. Parkinson’s behaviour was different from the regular sucking up he was sometimes subjected to.

“All right, just see if she does something again”, one of Draco’s hands went under the blanket. “But enough about that - I intend to touch a lot more than your hand now.”

The conversation was quickly forgotten, as Harry leaned in and kissed him hungrily, his hand cupping Draco’s cheek. It was even more heated this time, as their tongues slid together in purpose and their breaths sped up. They were, however, interrupted when the alarm charm they had set up rang in warning, telling them people were coming back to the common room. Draco sighed against Harry’s lips. “I guess we’ll have to finish this later.”

Harry chuckled, gave his lips one last peck and sat up. “Let’s get dressed and go act casual.”

As soon as they settled in the common room, their friends came back, some carrying a few shopping bags, their cheeks rosy from the cold. Harry was sitting in a big armchair, reading a Quidditch magazine, and Draco was lounging on the sofa, within a safe distance from Harry, pretending to be napping. 

As soon as Pansy saw Harry, she smiled impishly and went straight for him. Harry gulped. _Here we go._

“Potter, nice to see you here”, she hummed, leaning seductively on the chair’s armrest. “Let me know about our… _studying_ session soon”, she then mussed his hair a bit and left for her room.

Harry just sat there, frozen, when suddenly, Draco’s voice sounded in the room. “Potter, do you, uh, do you have another one of those magazines? I’d just love to borrow one _right now_ ”, He looked at Harry with wide, urgent eyes.

“Ah, yeah, sure! I’ve got one in my room, let’s go”, he jumped out of the chair, his skin still crawling, and they both marched to Harry’s room. 

“Longbottom, why don’t you join us?” Draco’s voice was high, as he grabbed Neville by his arm and dragged him along.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Draco turned to face them. “She _knows_!”, he rounded on Neville, “Longbottom, do you perhaps have an explanation as to how that happened?!”

“Draco”, Harry started but was interrupted by Neville.

“I don’t know, I didn’t say anything! They must have found out on their own!”, Neville was fidgeting, clearly unprepared for this discussion.

“ _They!?_ ”, Draco was fuming so Harry put a grounding hand on his shoulder.

“Neville, who else?”

“Hermione”, the other man mumbled.

“Well, that’s just fucking great!”, Draco turned to Harry. “We’re doomed.”

“No, that’s good!”, Neville piped in. “You can finally tell them, everybody will know and all the secrets will end!”

Draco, however, was having none of that. “Oh, that sly viper. I knew she would rather bite her own head off than stay out of my business for once in her life”, he was mumbling under his nose but then, he gasped and looked at Harry. “They don’t know that _we know!_ She’s trying to freak us out but _we_ will freak her right back!”

“Uh, I’m not following?”, Harry tilted his head.

“Of course you’re not. They don’t know we figured them out so _you_ , my dear, will reciprocate Pansy’s ostentatious flirting which will make her panic and back down!”, Draco shot the other men a triumphant look.

“That”, Harry came up to him, a sly smile forming on his face. “Might actually be a lot of fun.”

“Couldn’t you just tell them?”, Neville whined.

“ _NO_!”, they both shouted back.

The other man covered his face with his hands, mumbling something about _fucking Slytherins and their scheming._

***

To poor Neville’s utter dismay, Harry and Draco came up with a plan to outsmart their friends. Draco stayed in their room, hiding in the bathroom, and Harry went back to the common room. Pansy was sitting out with Hermione, their heads huddled together, both frantically whispering. They stopped immediately when Harry approached them.

“So, Pansy”, he started. “I, uh, I thought about your… _proposition._ Come over in a bit, I’d be, er, thrilled, to have you tutor me in potions”, he shot her what he had hoped was an alluring smile. 

It must have worked because she looked at him in horror. “Excuse me?”

“Y’know, so we can _study_. Um, together. I’ll be in my room.”

“Oh. _Oh”,_ Pansy quickly recovered, standing up to the challenge. “Well, let me just slip into something more comfortable. I’ll come by in a bit”, she giggled like a first-year. It was terrifying.

“I’ll see you then.” With that, Harry went back to his room to find Draco. He didn’t expect her to take the bait but his competitive nature wouldn’t let him surrender so easily. She was eventually going to break. He was sure.

“She’ll be here in a few minutes. How do I look?” he asked Draco and the other man snorted.

“That’s your main concern? Salazar, you really don’t know Pansy.”

“You’re not helping!”

Draco came closer and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry, I think she’ll find you perfectly charming. I know I do.”

There was a knock on the door. Draco smirked, whispered quick _good luck_ and ran back to the bathroom. Harry opened the door. Parkinson stood there, wearing a short, black dress, her hair styled into an intricate bun. “Hello, Potter.”

“Hi, uh, come in”, Harry forced his hands to stop shaking. 

“Quite a nice room you have here”, she mused, looking around. She glanced at him, seeing through his facade and smirked. “Nervous?”

“Me? No, of course not. I was, er, thinking about you all day.” He cursed inwardly. This was a bad idea.

Pansy sat elegantly in the nearest chair. “I certainly didn’t expect this to happen. But I’m… glad it did”, she smiled seductively, batting her eyelashes at Harry.

“Yeah, me too. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor, who would have thought, right?”

“Yes, a truly _unbelievable_ pairing, if you ask me”, she shot him a knowing look and stood up. She slowly crossed the short distance between them and wrapped her fingers around his bicep. Harry froze.

“I always had a thing for Gryffindors. So hot-headed and reckless”, she looked at him with hooded eyes.

He gulped. “Uh, yeah. Totally. Would you, er, excuse me for a second? I’ll be right back”, Harry chuckled nervously and bolted to the bathroom.

Malfoy jumped up as soon as the door closed behind him. “How is it going?”

“Draco, she’s better than we thought. This is seriously getting out of hand.”

“That trollop.” He adjusted Harry’s collar and kissed him, hard and fast. “You go back there and be the stupid, brave Gryffindor that you are. We are _not_ losing this.”

“I think she wants to kiss me!”, Harry said, his voice betraying him - this was getting scary.

“She’s not going to kiss you, Potter, I’m sure she will break. It’s almost over and we _will_ win.”

“All right”, Harry let out a long breath. “All right, let’s do this. When this is all over, I will bloody murder you.”

“So dramatic.”

Harry braced himself and went back to the room.

Pansy turned to him when he emerged. She had her wand out which didn’t exactly soothe Harry’s nerves. He came closer, his teeth clenched. Pansy put her hand on his chest. “Look up.”

He did as he was told and there was a little green branch that she had probably just transfigured. It looked vaguely familiar, almost like-

“That’s mistletoe we’re standing under”, Pansy whispered.

Harry was having a heart attack. _She will back down. It’s okay._ “I see. Well, erm, then I guess we shoud- Um, maybe we should”, he sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening. “Kiss?”

“I would love that, Harry.”

She got closer. Too close. Harry felt panic rise in his throat. _Any second now. She should break any second_.

Pansy, however, was apparently much more resilient than either of them gave her credit for. Suddenly, Hary felt her lips on his, and it felt _wrong_ , their shape was odd, and they weren’t as soft as Draco’s and-

“All right, all right, you _win_!” He recoiled so fast he almost toppled over onto the bed. “I can’t do this, I don’t want to kiss you!”

“And why is that, Potter?”, she asked, unable to stifle her laughter anymore.

“Because I only want to kiss Draco, because I’m in love with Draco!”, he shouted, unable to stop himself.

The bathroom door opened and Harry turned around. Draco was standing there, looking so vulnerable, and unsure, his eyes full of disbelief. Harry’s heart clenched. It was now or never.

“I love you, Draco.”

The other man was on him in seconds, grabbing him and kissing him long, hard and hungry. They didn’t care they weren’t alone, anymore; it wasn’t important because Harry had finally told Draco what he had known deep down for some time now. When they parted, Draco looked at him with nothing but affection and emotion in his eyes.

“I love you too, Harry”, he kissed him again, this time softer, their noses brushing together.

The door to the room opened and Hermione entered, Neville trailing behind her. They stood there in utter shock, staring at the pair. Finally, Pansy broke the silence.

“And here I thought you two were just shagging. I didn’t know you idiots were in love!”, she smiled, already having given herself credit where it was due.

Harry let out a relieved laugh, his head on Draco’s shoulder. “I guess we are, huh?”

Hermoine’s gasp of horror sounded in the room when Ron entered, apparently back from dinner. Harry froze, still holding Draco, as the other man stiffened in his arms.

Ron looked around at everybody, seeming unfazed, and, _weird._ He raised his eyebrows. “So, you guys finally found out?”

“Found out about what?”, Hermione asked, feigning ignorance.

“These two idiots”, Ron pointed to Harry and Draco. 

Draco was unable to contain his disbelief. “Wait, you _knew_?!”

Ron scowled at him and turned to Harry who was still gaping at him in complete astonishment. “Harry, you’re my best mate. All it took me was to put two and two together.”

“How?”, Neville asked, his brow furrowed.

Ron looked like he was itching to tell this story for a while now. “Well, I had a feeling something was going on from the beginning. All the weird disappearing and made-up-sounding excuses. I thought nothing of it at first; Harry was staring at Malfoy all the time, but let’s face it”, he looked to Harry, exasperated. “that’s been going on for years. But this year it was just… different, I dunno, you didn’t stare at him like you hated his guts anymore. Then, there was Christmas, and my mum wrote me about how Andromeda is staying over with Teddy. Which was weird because you told us you’re visiting them. So I asked around and heard how Malfoy was supposedly in Paris with his mother. But then, Blaise mentioned that she was staying with _his_ mother and, well, too much for a coincidence, yeah?”

Everybody was staring at Ron in silent shock. He shrugged and continued. “And I saw Harry had some weird marks on his neck, and so did Malfoy”, he smirked. “And the Quidditch. Mate, you told me you’re going flying about seventeen times these past few months. And that broom?”, he pointed to the corner of the room, where Harry’s Firebolt was propped up against the wall. “Never left this room since we’ve moved in.”

Harry finally found his voice. “Ron, I’m sorry I haven’t told you. It’s just…”

He put his hand up. “I know, mate. This”, he vaguely gestured at Draco who shot him a dirty look. “Isn’t _ideal_ , but I figure he must make you happy. It’s just nice to know I found out before everyone else. Why do you lot always take me for the dumb one?”

Draco piped in. “Oh, I know the answer to that.”

“Not the time to contribute, darling”, Pansy said, not looking at him.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, mate”, Harry said, feeling stupid.

“Nah, I forgive you. Because, Malfoy’s face right now? Priceless.”

Draco cleared his throat. “Weasley, listen carefully because I will only say it once. You will make a damn good Auror.”

Ron just smirked at him. “I’m watching you, so play nice with our friend.”

“Now”, Draco grabbed Harry’s hand and turned for the door. “If you’ll excuse us, I intend to snog Potter in my room, since apparently, all our efforts at secrecy turned out to be redundant. Don’t wait up. Also, Blaise is staying here tonight.” Having said that, he dragged a scarlet-faced Harry out of the room.

They barged into his room, startling Zabini, who was lying on his bed, reading a book. Draco practically threw Harry on his bed, and, straddling his hips, started to unbutton his shirt. He turned his head to look at Blaise “You’re staying in 3B.”

“Yep.”, the other man stood up and rushed out of the door, not looking back.

***

That night was the first of many nights in Hogwarts when they got to fall asleep together. Later that week, their friends graciously agreed to a room switch, provided they always made sure silencing spells were in place. When one morning, he woke up next to his gorgeous, very naked boyfriend, Harry thought that everything had finally fallen into place.


End file.
